Marco Matias struck twice as Sheffield Wednesday kept their play-off ambitions alive with a 3-0 Sky Bet Championship victory over Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough.
All of the goals came in 20 frantic second-half minutes as Forest, who gave as good as they got in the opening period, fell apart under sustained pressure.
The 29-year-old Matias grabbed his first Owls brace either side of George Boyd’s fine effort as the hosts bounced straight back after suffering their first defeat of the Steve Bruce era on Saturday.
The result continues Forest’s awful away record – they have not won in 13 on the road – and leaves their own promotion ambitions hanging by a thread.
Both teams made wholesale changes after losing at the weekend, with Bruce’s decision to bring in Matias and Martin O’Neill handing a first league start of the season to goalkeeper Luke Steele proving to be the most telling.
The home side almost took an early lead when Matias’ fifth-minute cross from the right found Lucas Joao, whose header was clawed away by Steele.
Steven Fletcher’s 31st-minute effort from the edge of the penalty box deflected wide, and from the resulting corner Steele produced a superb save to deny Matias after Adam Reach laid the ball off for the Portuguese forward.
The best chance of the opening period came two minutes before half-time, when Fletcher headed Matias’ cross over from six yards.
Matias put the game to bed midway though the second half as he rode one challenge and saw the ball fall kindly for him from Steele’s attempted save before tapping into an empty net.
